The present invention relates generally to accessories for tools for initially holding fasteners thereto, and particularly to accessories for wrench sockets for initially holding fasteners captive therein.
While installing fasteners, it is often desirable to maintain the fastener with the tool until fastening is initially underway. Often it was necessary to hold the fastener relative to the tool with one hand while the tool was manipulated with the other hand. Because of limitations in space, access to the fastener by the hand holding the fastener and also by the tool itself was difficult if not impossible. Furthermore, due to the proximity of the hand to the fastener and the tool, the hand initially holding the fastener to the tool was especially prone to accidental injury. Thus, there is a well known need in the art for methods for temporarily holding the fastener to the tool until the fastening is initially underway.
Prior to the present invention, several methods have been devised for the use of magnetic forces to retain fasteners to the tool during fastening or removal of the fasteners. However, acceptance of such prior approaches in the art has been limited due to the inherent deficiencies in such prior approaches. For example, many of such approaches required specially manufactured and designed tools to incorporate the fastener retention feature and thus could not be utilized when the fastener retention feature was not desired and could not be utilized with standard tools already in use. Further, many of such approaches magnetized the entire tool so that the tool was not only magnetically attracted to the fastener but also to any metal in the path of the tool to the fastening location as well as metal surrounding the fastening location. Furthermore, many of such approaches were of complicated, multipiece designs incapable of being economically manufactured and assembled. Although U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,146,814; 5,199,334; and 5,277,088 represent a major advance in overcoming the inherent deficiencies in prior approaches, a continuing need exists for accessories which can be selectively utilized with conventional wrench sockets without modification thereto and which capture fasteners in the well of the socket.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a novel accessory for use in a wrench socket without need for modifying the wrench socket and for preventing fasteners from sliding from the well of the socket to hold the fastener captive in the well while the socket is being moved to the fastening location and while the fastener is being initially fastened. In this regard, such a tool will be especially helpful in assembling or disassembling goods in hard-to-get-at fastening locations and at greater efficiencies. Further, as many accidents happen when working in such hard-to-get-at fastening locations, the accessory will reduce the exposure of injury to the user's hand which was otherwise required to hold the fastener in the wrench socket. Furthermore, the accessory will reduce the chance of injury due to sharp threads cutting fingers holding the fastener while trying to initially thread such fasteners. Likewise, the accessory will allow persons having handicaps or other disabilities to utilize wrench sockets in fastening situations which they otherwise were unable to perform.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel accessory which captures the fastener in the well of the socket but also does not magnetize the socket or the fastener captured therein to such a degree to cause detrimental attraction of the socket and the fastener to metal surrounding the fastening location. For example, the socket and fastener will not be attracted to the metal block of an engine as it is moved adjacent thereto to the fastening location. In this regard, the accessory will increase efficiency and productivity. Specifically, the fastener is captured in the socket in a desired position and will not change orientation and/or fall therefrom due to gravitational forces. Thus, fasteners are easier to start with one hand operation, which is particularly desirable for use with pneumatic or electric speed wrenches.